MN Driver Fatigue Update
Star Tribune
Last update: May 14, 2009 - 10:35 AM
Suit: Minnesota using secret checklist to idle 'fatigued' drivers
A national trucker drivers' association is suing the Minnesota State Patrol, contending that it is illegally taking rigs out of service based on a secret interrogation checklist that officers use in the hopes of catching operators who are too tired to be on the road.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis by the Independent Drivers Association Inc. on behalf of drivers Stephen K. House of Sprindale, Wash., and Gary B. Page, of Spencer, Wis. Named as defendants, all with the patrol, are Chief Mark Dunaski, Capt. Ken Urquhart and a handful of officers.
The suit says that the checklist was created by Urquhart, and officers were "strongly urged" in an internal memo to use it when stopping truckers, even though it "does not define fatigue, nor does it incorporate any medically or clinically tested and approved methods for measuring fatigue."
The suit adds that the patrol has failed to make this checklist public and used it to remove House and Page from behind the wheel.
The checklist, the suit says, includes various criteria to evaluate, among them: driver's mood and cleanliness, odor in the cab, overflowing ashtrays, presence of a urine bottle.
Also on the list, the suit says: driver's neck size, tendency to be overly agreeable, presence of a cell phone, access to the Internet.
A copy of the suit and the checklist have been forwarded to the State Patrol this morning for comment.
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